Repository
by tyrsownRue
Summary: chpt 10 updated In which meals are made, and stalking is done. eventual kakairu
1. Chapter 1

Horrible way to start an AN/Disclaimer, but here's the obligatory 'I've never written a fanfiction before', it's not my style. I respect these characters far too much to create situations that they wouldn't approve of, so I'm trying my best to stay true to their characters and to the storyline of the manga/anime. That said, don't forgive me my mistakes. Point them out. The only reason I'm writing this is because I promised someone that I would, and I don't break my promises easily. I'm going to try my best to finish this story, because I refuse to start something I don't intend on finishing at some point, but know that it will be taking a hell of a lot out of me to do so because of the whole 'fanfiction' thing.

As I've said elsewhere, I am more than willing to discuss with people who may find subject matter not to their taste (to be more blunt, those who disagree with Iruka and Kakashi as a legitimate pairing; to be even blunter, those who disagree with male x male relations). And yes, this story will eventually evolve into a kakairu pairing that will take place during the two year absence of Naruto. Unfortunately I have not yet read interaction between these two characters after Naruto returns so I can't base this on anything but what I have read. (And I am keeping up with the series as fast as it comes out)

As for rating…I highly doubt that there will be any lemons in this, mainly because I'm not a gay male (as 98 of all fanfiction writers) so I can't write from experience (and because asking the ones I know about it would result in more ruptured blood cells than I have left). Maybe, that's all I can say at this point. (And it depends on if Iruka will let me)

Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, which is why this isn't canon in the first place. Come on Mishimoto-san, give the fangirls another moment.

**Repository**

Umino Iruka was well accustomed to working late. This being true, it hadn't bothered him unduly the first few times in which he was forced to complete his paperwork far into the dead hours of the night. To be truthful, in a village filled with shinobi, no hours during the night could ever be considered completely silent or unwatched; noise meant life, and eyes meant safety, both of which were precious commodities for villages that traded on lives. Iruka knew this; knew that he was not the only one who set aside sleep to serve Konoha. But after weeks of such nights, the brown-haired chuunin was finally beginning to feel the strain.

He could appreciate why he had as much work as he did, between sporadic teaching, the mission room and now even the occasional mission himself. The Godaime had to make use of who she could, and did so as efficiently as possible. Classes at the academy were slotted into whatever available time there was; they could hardly afford to keep the school closed for very long, not if they needed trained soldiers ready to face their new threats. Chuunins were taking higher ranked missions now, and pushing themselves to complete them as efficiently as possible, even if they were in far deeper than they could handle. The genins even were being forced into tasks far beyond what they would have during Sandaime's reign. And miraculously they seemed to be coming back relatively unscathed, though it left one to wonder what kind of marks the experiences had left on their souls; what stains they could never wash clean.

Iruka couldn't help but notice the horrible similarities between now and the last secret war; the war that had made assassins of six year olds. Because war had a way of turning children into men, and young men into corpses. They were poised once more on the pinnacle, and once more everything was being asked of them.

Thoughts like these were what kept him up at night, even after all his paperwork and grading had been completed; after his mission wounds were treated, and far past the time he needed in order to keep his body functional.

So he found it completely within his right to nod every so often as he rested his head upon his folded arms, making non-committal sounds at reasonable points, Konohamaru rambling on at the counter of Ichiraku. Udon and Mohegi were giving him enough rapt attention for three of him anyhow.

He had felt that he had been pulling away from the children recently -- ever since Naruto had left with Jiraiya, and the monumental strain had been placed on everyone who remained. Iruka knew that he had it easy though, compared to some of the elite forces and special Jounin. He had heard rumours that some of them had dusted off their porcelain masks and rejoined the ranks, and he found it difficult not to work diligently for their sakes. Many risks were being taken to assure Konoha's place on the world stage, and that knowledge brought along a devastating amount of worry for the inhabitants.

Naturally, Iruka had invited Konohamaru out for dinner as he had once before, long ago, for a young troublemaker that had reminded him so much of himself. He had hoped for a small respite from his worries, perhaps be reminded of a time not so long ago when the sun had sat where this young child had sat, and there had been no concern of snakes and the coming of the moon. But because it was Konohamaru, Iruka found himself seated with his inseparable companions, Udon and Mohegi, as well. Not that he minded really, the others were rather well mannered and followed the miniature Naruto quite compliantly.

"Ano…Iruka-sensei?"

He gave a start as a gloved hand came down on his shoulder, and raised his head groggily from its comfortable position. His eyes met a green flak jacket which he followed upwards, past the scroll pouches, past a glaringly orange rectangle, past the mask until they rested on a single blue eye which slowly closed into a happy arc.

"You shouldn't sleep outside, Sensei, you'll be sorry in the morning." Kakashi snapped the glaringly orange rectangle shut, which Iruka now registered as his infamous reading material, "Also, I believe the owner of this establishment is prepared to go home for the night."

"I wasn't asleep," he muttered, "just resting."

"You eat quite a bit when you're 'just resting'." Kakashi prodded the mountains of bowls piled around the man who had been 'just resting' with the spine of his book.

Kakashi watched in amusement as Iruka quite visibly paled, knowing that he was quickly doing a mental count and calculation. "I'm surprised you can afford to be so generous, Sensei, even _with_ the extra workload. "

He glanced at Iruka sidelong and noticed that the man was still staring at the bowls, though now he seemed to be slightly angled to one side. It was then that Kakashi realized he was passing out, and hastily caught the chuunin before he fell off the stool.

When Iruka opened his eyes for the second time that night, he found himself lying on his couch, staring up at his bare ceiling. He shot up as he heard a clatter and looked warily around. He was slightly confused to discover that the sound had come from his kitchen, and even more so when Kakashi emerged with a teapot in one hand and two mugs in the other.

"Kakashi-san…what are you doing in my home?" was all he could manage to say. He hadn't thought the other man had even known where he lived, though he supposed Naruto was hardly inconspicuous in his visits.

Kakashi placed the cups on the low coffee table next to the pot and settled himself on the floor quite comfortably before answering. "You fainted. I brought you here."

"I did not faint!" Iruka said indignantly, ignoring the fact that Kakashi had broken into his home. That wasn't important at the moment.

"You fainted."

"I passed out, I didn't _faint!_"

"Whatever." Kakashi shrugged and began to pour the tea.

"…thank you for bringing me home." Iruka was quite certain that had been a difficult choice for the masked man rather than leaving him in the streets, which would have resulted badly if he was still around by the time Iruka woke up. He met Kakashi's eye for a moment as he held out one of the cups. Iruka could tell he had considered it.

"…you're welcome."

Iruka raised his cup, planning how to address the fact that the man was still in him home after breaking in.

"There is, however, the matter of repayment."

"What?" Iruka nearly spilt the hot liquid as he looked up.

"For all those bowls I paid for."

"I'm so sorry!" Iruka felt heat rising in his face and hoped he wasn't blushing obviously. "How…how much was it?"

Iruka felt like the floor had opened beneath him when Kakashi spoke, and dangerously close to falling over once again.

"…but," Iruka blinked, focusing on Kakashi as he continued, wanting to shrink under his scrutiny, "I don't expect you to be able to pay that amount any time soon. A chuunin can only make so much."

Iruka fought to hold back a sigh of relief.

"I am willing to ignore the amount of money however," Kakashi's eye arced into a teasing smile as he saw Iruka relax, "if you give me a kiss."

This time much to Kakashi's amusement, Iruka did drop his cup, letting out a string of curses as the boiling tea hit his hands.

"What the hell, Kakashi!" Iruka sprang to his feet, all thoughts of honorary titles gone from his mind. "You pervert!"

With an amused smile, Kakashi said the price again, and Iruka felt his heart drop. He stormed from the room and slammed his bathroom door.

Kakashi sat peacefully in his spot on the floor, finally taking a sip of his own tea as he waited, watching the spilt liquid soak into the carpet.

He had nearly finished his cup by the time Iruka re-emerged, resolute and an interesting shade of red.

"Fine, I accept."

"Wonderful" the silver-haired man replied agreeably without missing a beat. He was in fact rather surprised. From what he had learned from his genins, the young scarred teacher had quite the fiery temperament and stubborn personality. He hadn't expected the chuunin to agree at all, at which point he would have suggested something equally as ludicrous and waited for the man to haggle his way to a better deal. Looked like he was stuck.

Iruka stood in the middle of the room, and Kakashi sat resolutely where he was, now reading his infamous book.

"Well?" Iruka said impatiently after many long minutes of silence.

"I think I'll save it for later." Kakashi continued reading.

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?" He glanced at the irate chuunin over his book.

"Because, I want to get this whole embarrassing situation over and done with!"

"I only asked for a kiss, Iruka-sensei, I didn't specify when or where." He said calmly, maddeningly turning a page. "You should clean up your spill; I think it might ruin your carpet."


	2. Chapter 2

**Repository 2**

Iruka spent much of the next day muttering to himself as he went about his work, casting anyone who made comment on his sour mood an icy glare before resuming his mumbled tirade.

Mostly it was inaudible to those around him, but what they could pick up were occasional things such as 'bloody jounins', 'underneath what underneath' and several choice words about dog lovers that made even the Inuzuka clan give the scarred chuunin a wide berth.

His class that day had behaved remarkably well, though he had barely noticed; he assumed later that it was because his chief troublemaker and his two companions were all at home. Nursing massive stomach aches from their previous mischief, Iruka hoped with a small amount of guilty pleasure.

His mountain of work quickly vanished before his aggravated dedication until it was no more than foothills in comparison, at which point he gave his co-workers the farewell many had been anxiously awaiting.

It was his hope to simply disappear into the recesses of his home, perhaps even to stay there for however long it took for a certain silver-haired jounin to forget he ever made such a ridiculous deal in the first place. He had been bluffing, hoping against hope that the man would withdraw if he thought that Iruka would consent. The bastard had probably seen through that, he thought rather mournfully. When trying to anticipate a jounin, one had to be that many more steps ahead.

They were playing a game, he knew, he just needed to discover what the rules were.

It was as he was mulling this over, walking rather forcefully with his arms full, that he managed to miss the obvious confrontation occurring in front of him. So it came to pass that his papers were sprawled haphazardly across the near empty street and his backside quite sore from introducing itself abruptly with the dirt-packed road.

"Itaii…" he winced from his spot on the ground, his foul mood prominent in his mind.

At this point, he noticed two things. Firstly, the thing that he had crashed into happened to be the main irritant in his life since Naruto's graduation. Secondly, that his current bane was standing over him with irritatingly amused curiosity next to something garishly green. That something, coincidentally, also happened to be a person. A person who happened to have quite a fashionable hair-cut, if not overly bushy eyebrows.

"Iruka-sensei! I see that you also are out, enjoying the brisk night air as should be done by one as young and sprightly as –"

"I'm only four years younger than you Gai-sensei."

"Ah, and the magnitude of your youthful spirit far exceeds your years, lengthy though they may be!"

"Ah…my papers…" Iruka sprang to his feet, suppressing the urge to yell at Gai for what he could only assume meant he was immature.

"Stay there, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi placed a friendly hand on Gai's shoulder, his eye curving happily, "Gai here will get them for you. He is such a model of youthful diligence and courtesy…aren't you?"

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't think –"

"This will be our challenge!" Gai dramatically pointed his finger at Kakashi, "Whoever collects the most of fair Iruka-sensei's errant items shall triumph in this feat of courtesy!"

"If you say so."

"If I should fail this, I will run up the Hokage monument stairs two thousand times!"

"Iruka, just say 'go'" Kakashi said in a calculatedly bored voice.

"Go?" Iruka shielded his eyes hastily as the two elite jounin disappeared in clouds of dust. It had barely settled by the time they reappeared, Iruka noted vaguely.

Gai returned first, followed almost immediately by Kakashi, each holding a stack of his scattered papers and scrolls.

"Two hundred and fourty-three papers and three scrolls!" Gai handed these promptly to Iruka.

"Same." Kakashi's eye was happily arched as he returned Iruka's belongings, "Two hundred and forty-one papers, five scrolls."

Gai pointed dramatically. "Impossible!"

"Improbable." He turned, still smiling.

"A rematch must be had! Iruka-sensei," Gai turned his dramatically pointed finger at the chuunin who tried not to shrink back, "run into Kakashi again."

"N-no!"

"Gai, we don't have time for this," Kakashi said in a mild voice, "I still need to return my mission report –"

"Which is _five hours late_!" Iruka pointed angrily at the jounin who attempted to ignore the finger as he smiled disarmingly.

"…and I still need to sort out with our dear Iruka-sensei the debt which he owes me."

"Gah…" Iruka really did step back this time, slightly concerned as to what the jounin had planned. Surely he wouldn't ask fro him to repay him in front of Gai-sensei, would he?

"What? Such an optimistic and responsible man is indebted to one such as you?" Gai seemed simply floored at the thought.

"Maa, you make that sound like a bad thing." He scratched at his neck with his left hand.

"I simply will not have it! Don't fear, Iruka-sensei," he gave the chuunin the Nice Guy pose, "I will challenge Kakashi for the ownership of this debt!"

"What!" Iruka felt the bloody rush from his face, "No, really, Gai-sensei it's—"

"I quite insist, though you are noble and humble in your request. That makes it all the more essential that I rescue you from this predicament!" Gai nodded thoughtfully to himself, hand resting on his chin.

Kakashi thought about it for a moment, mimicking Gai's motions until Iruka felt veins pulsing on his temples with the effort not to strangle Konoha's top jounin for even considering such a –

"Okay."

Iruka was certain he felt a few of those veins burst.


	3. Chapter 3

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**AN:** I work at the pace of a drunken snail. I also have things of importance beyond fandom, like not failing university. The next chapter may take awhile, as I have to write between assignments, studying and other commitments. Also, I have a problem when it comes to writing things about established fandoms that is not true. Meaning, I need to know the canon in detail to be happy, I probably will include fanon because it has yet to be disproved, but I don't want to construct a history or a past for characters that can be proven to be non-existent. Aka, Iruka's genin team, or what happened to Rin. Exactly why Kakashi left ANBU. There was a picture in the manga of Iruka, Ebisu and Suzume; fanon seems to suggest they were a genin team…but Suzume's 31and Ebisu's 28…were they just pictured as such because they were all teachers, or because they have gone on a mission together? And thanks to the new years special, I now know that it does not snow in Konoha (at least not surrounding new years, as all the trees still had leaves and no snow was present.) Thank you, fillers. And yes, I accept what happens in fillers as actual fact, because they were created officially by Kishimoto, and therefore more accurate than any fanon.

And thank you for reviews I'm glad someone is enjoying reading this.

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**Repository 3**

And so it came to pass that a certain brown-haired chuunin stood in mild distress as two elite jounins discussed the manner in which they should battle, and found it ridiculous that two such powerful men should fight over ramen and kisses. Though he recognized that shinobi were innately eccentric, and figured this sort of thing was far less silly than the sort of things such duels had been held over in previous years.

As he watched Gai and Kakashi, well mostly Gai, discuss the finer details of their match, he felt an imminent sense of dread nearly overwhelm him.

"Kakashi-sensei…" he said as politely as he could muster.

Kakashi really wasn't to blame for not hearing his words over Gai's colourful and loud vocabulary, so he tried once more, this time stopping Gai mid dramatic gesture.

"Kakashi, just how confident are you in your ability to win this match?" he asked very carefully, partly to keep his temper in check should he dislike the answer, partly not to offend the blindingly green man beside him.

Kakashi thought silently for a moment, so Gai took it upon himself to answer. "My eternal rival has competed in many such duels as this! He is esteemed as a fighter and is a worthy opponent for one as beautiful as Konoha's Blue Beast!" Gai struck a pose, "He has made a victory of exactly forty-nine percent of our duels, making him a worthy rival indeed!"

"Forty-nine percent." Iruka repeated in an eerily calm voice.

Kakashi thought he did a wonderful job of not backing away. "Well…"

"You are willing to wager on a match you have less than half a chance of winning."

"In all fairness, Iruka, I did win half of the time." Kakashi shrugged.

"Yes, one must be optimistic!" Gai grabbed Kakashi's hand and shook it vigorously, "To the victor!"

"Kakashi," Iruka gritted his teeth as he said the words, "I will double my debt if you win."

Kakashi and Gai turned to look at him, Kakashi in genuine surprise; Gai with a glowing look that reminded him of a puppy who just got scratched behind the ears. That made him more than a little wary as the man in green stepped towards him.

"Fair Iruka! It strengthens my spirit to know that you have such confidence in my victory!"

Iruka blinked in stunned silence and realized that Kakashi was still staring at him unnervingly.

"Because of this confidence" Gai continued, mostly to himself now, "If I lose, in addition to my two thousand stair runs, I will repay Iruka-sensei's debt myself!"

Iruka swore he saw Kakashi blanch, though with the mask he couldn't quite be certain.

"…That…won't be necessary, Gai." Iruka forced himself to say. He wished dearly to agree; to see Kakashi try and escape this on his own, but the situation was ridiculous. To be honest, he would prefer the odds of Kakashi attempting to win more than calculated failure. Iruka mentally apologized to Konoha's Beautiful Blue Beast. "If that is the case, then I will have paid nothing, and it is after all, my debt to pay."

Kakashi was eying him with some unreadable look as he stood in the same comfortable slouch he had maintained admirably the entire time.

"Just…tell me who I owe when you're finished, alright? I don't think I want to watch."

But Iruka found that he couldn't just leave the area as he wished. The shinobi inside was excited to see the two jounin clash, and with such force, and power and speed all circulating around the same two people in such a small space…the chuunin was mesmerized.

'_Come on, Kakashi,_' he thought almost desperately as he watched them meet time after time, kunai flashing in the lamplight, _'I know you can win this…If you don't, I'm going to paint you while you sleep and cover every last mask you own in high-grade itching powder. You will never know again a day's peace!'_

Iruka could see that the motions of the two elites had become different, and he doubted that either of them had much chakra left in reserve, regardless of how elite they might be. Any longer and they would begin doing serious damage to their systems.

The match was taking place in the hours between late night and early morning, in the center of the village on a sleepy street. As such, they had gained a rather large audience in a very short period of time. Iruka felt his neck prickling under the intense gaze of the porcelain animals that had gathered on various rooftops, watching silently amidst the assorted non-shinobi villagers calling encouragement from their windows and the collected shinobi not on duty or asleep.

Iruka offered thanks to whatever was watching over them that he could not see Shizune in the crowds, though if Tsunade was still up there might be trouble.

From far off in the distance, Iruka thought for a moment that he heard something over the sounds of battle.

Gai froze, a starry sparkle in his eyes ass Kakashi's kick was barely dodged. "Lee-kun!"

He disappeared at a dash in the direction Iruka assumed the call had come from with an astonishing burst of speed.

Iruka stood there in mild shock at the absurdity of the entire matter. The gathered crowds dispersed nearly as quickly as they had gathered, muttering amongst themselves at the anti-climatic ending as they returned to their homes. He swore he saw Raidou walking away supporting a clearly inebriated Genma holding the man's senbon far from his grasp, and Aoba collecting money from a reluctant Hana; the Inuzuka's Haimaru Triplets growling softly as they circled her.

Soon the street was deserted again, the lights from the surrounding houses flickering off one by one, and the relative silence returned to the night. He turned at the sound of something decidedly heavy thudding to the dirt-packed road, shifting his paperwork as he did so.

Kakashi had fallen to his knees, the Sharingan spinning furiously as he wavered.

"Kakashi-san!"

"I won…I think…" He eyes arched almost lazily as he fell forward, Iruka catching his shoulders before he could meet the ground.

Iruka shook him none too gently by holding his vest and jerking him back and forth rather violently. "Don't you _dare_ Hatake Kakashi! What the hell am I supposed to do with you now?"

He sighed in defeat, attempting to figure out just how he was going to manage to carry all of his work and a giant deadweight all the way – where exactly? He had a general knowledge of where the jounin lived, he had delivered a message to Asuma once while he was checking in on the comatose man. But just because he knew where the man lived didn't give him the right to break into his home while he was unconscious, regardless of the fact that the man in question obviously had no difficulty in doing such a thing himself. Iruka refused to stoop to his level.

He supposed he could drop him off at one of the other jounin's homes, but it was late…and if Genma and Raidou were any indication, those that remained in the village were in no condition to be hospitable to an immature and overly pretentious Hatake. The others, he knew were probably away on mission, or as desiring as their down time as he was. There was always the hospital, but it didn't look like Tsunade had found out about the incident yet, and for the sakes of everyone involved, he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. The entire village would know about it by tomorrow – later that day, anyhow. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't in good conscience leave the man unconscious in the middle of Konoha's streets, though he still thought it would do the man a world of good to wake up in a trashcan somewhere.

So he swung the man over his shoulders, looping an arm about his knee and the other grasping his arm as he attempted to juggle his papers in various places including his flak jacket and mouth.

Somehow that night, he managed to make it home, cursing the straw-headed jounin with every step while planning every way in which he would extract his revenge for any number of excruciatingly embarrassing situations that led directly back to his feet.

Iruka dropped him unceremoniously on his own bed, stripping him of his sandals and flak jacket before grabbing a pillow and grudgingly making a bed for himself on the floor.

If jounins were this much trouble, he vowed to have as little to do with them as possible in the future.

When he awoke the next morning, he wasn't surprised to discover that Kakashi was no longer where he had left him. The fact that Kakashi had been able to disappear without waking him unnerved him, even if it had been expected. They were both trained shinobi, but it was instances like this that proved just how great the distance between them truly was. Iruka could find no trace of the jounin in his small floor-level home as though he had never been there at all save for a small white note on his kitchen table signed with his signature mark. The henohenomoheji.

Iruka groaned, but he knew it really was inevitable that Kakashi would want to talk to him at some point other than the few times they accidentally crossed paths. Especially if he now owed him twice as much as before. Iruka let his head thud against the table.

Why had he agreed to this? Oh yes, Gai-sensei. He made a mental note to add Gai to the list of 'kill painfully slow' right after Kakashi and Konohamaru.

Resigned to his fate, he rose and left to meet Kakashi.


	4. Chapter 4

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AN: …won't be updating a new chapter until the preceding chapter is contrived. That way any changes that need to be made can be without seeming inconsistencies. I'm not sure what the timeline of this story is other than 'in the two years Naruto's gone'. I suppose it has to be after September, as I made Kakashi 28 (taking into account that he had cell 7 for approximately a year before Sasuke departs.) So therefore it's over a year since Cell 7 was formed, and after Kakashi's 28th birthday. Which would make Iruka 24.

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**Repository 4**

Kakashi had seen many things in his life.

He had seen the incredulous look of men who had their throats ripped out by a seven year old when he had become a chuunin, and solider, at the age of six. He had seen his father, lying on the blood-soaked tatami mats in the light of the moon. His face had been filled with a strange sense of relief with hands curled around the tanto blade that had been his trademark and his legacy, now imbedded deeply in his body. He had cleaned the blade and strapped it to his back like Sakumo, catching the looks of the shinobi who recognized the tanto and staring straight back.

He had been a child forced to mature in a world that asked everything of him because there really was no one else; a miniature adult in clothes he had yet to grow into. He knew the shinobi rules by heart, and never once had the world seen him cry.

He had matured in many ways. His skills were near perfection; he executed his tasks with near precision. He was almost the perfect soldier. But it wasn't until he bore witness to the fruits of his near-perfect judgements that he grew up. When he was thirteen years of age and newly made jounin, he discovered what it meant to be not just a shinobi, but a human.

With the sharingan, Kakashi had perfected his techniques. Chidori was no longer hazardous and risky to perform, his taijitsu was fluid and faster than the eye could follow – almost, it seemed, as though he could predict the motions of his opponent before they could even react. His genjitsu was flawless.

But with Obito, that small part of the loud 'cry-baby ninja' that had invaded his senses and upset his entire foundation – with Obito, he perfected himself.

And so, over ten years later, when Sakura and Naruto and Sasuke had first encountered their lazy, perverted, chronic liar of a teacher, he had smiled to himself a little as they cried out in unison "You're LATE!"

Because it meant that he was whole. It meant that he was not just a tool to deal out death and pain. Not just a faceless shinobi in his late twenties; an old relic of a war they read about in their textbooks. They were waiting for him, as he had waited for a dark-haired boy that had resembled so clearly all three of them.

For that reason, he visited the memorial stone every morning, to tell Obito how much he would have enjoyed knowing Cell 7; to lament his mistakes so he would not repeat them, but most importantly, to be thankful that he was still alive to know them himself.

But he had seen too much of Obito and himself in his little three man team. So much that it blinded him to the hairline cracks that had always been there. The cracks that proved they were not so alike and that they would never fit the mould left by the past; they had fought to make their own.

After Sasuke's trauma, he had not concentrated on becoming the perfect shinobi. Sasuke had spent his time gathering power as best he could. He had begun to learn from Naruto the lesson it had taken such horrible sacrifice for Kakashi to learn, but it had confused him. Unlike Kakashi, he had fought it, and when he could not, he ran.

So after he had returned, carrying a battered and weary fox-child, Kakashi had spent his time at the stone between missions far more frequently. Time spent in silent contemplation on two Uchihas that looked alike in body, but shared two very different hearts.

That day in particular, he fingered the smooth porcelain ears of his other identity, the one he had picked up only a few months after the death of the Yondaime. The persona he now had to pick up again.

He had hoped this day would never come; already he was nearing the end of his prime. He was already twenty-eight, and the life of a shinobi what it was, already blessed with remaining as whole in body as he was. His mind was another matter, but he usually ignored this fact until the day he broke, mended himself, and began the cycle anew. As he had been taught. As they all had been taught. Some were never able to recover, and he wondered on occasion which was the more fortunate.

Kakashi knew one day he would break again, and perhaps that would be the last time. Then again, as he accepted more frequent A and S rank missions, the chance of younger and stronger ninja appearing loomed over him like a dark cloud. That was a far more likely fate than breaking, regardless of how hard he trained. But he had promised to live for both himself and Obito; to let the dark-haired youth see as much of the future as he could. That was why he had accepted the post of jounin instructor after he had been forced to retire from ANBU. It was supposed to be safer that way. Genins don't attract sannin level ninjas. Genins aren't dangerous.

Why was it that his life was never as simple as it could have been?

He knew that Tsunade was going to reprimand him for overusing the sharingan in a sparring match. He hadn't done that for years. But Gai was a fierce opponent for all his bravado, and it was unavoidable if he was to win. Even with the boost to his sight, he had still been unable to avoid all of Gai's attacks; his shoulder still ached from a hastily deflected roundhouse, and he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to look into the pain in his left wrist among other places.

Maybe Sakura could look into it for him without having to inform Tsunade.

He stowed the mask away as he noticed the sun's position in the sky, allowing himself a small smirk as he imagined Iruka waiting for him.

By the time Kakashi arrived, Iruka was starving, irritated and internally far beyond nervous. The silver-haired man returned his venomous glare with a seemingly oblivious smile.

"Good Morning, Iruka-sensei." He slouched nonchalantly, staring down at where Iruka sat propped against his tree.

"It is far past noon, Kakashi-san." Iruka suppressed the urge to bash the grey head against the trunk.

"So it is," he crouched to Iruka's level, "You see –"

"Save it."

Kakashi shrugged. "It's a lovely day to be out, sensei."

"Look if you want me to repay you now, let's just get this over with." Iruka reached for Kakashi's mask, a heavy scowl in place. Kakashi caught his wrist, chuckling.

"So forward, sensei!"

Iruka fought the blush that was threatening to colour his face. "Don't treat me like a fool, Hatake Kakashi! What kind of ridiculous –"

Kakashi smiled. "I would never do that."

"You know," Iruka said with a barely contained glare, "Naruto used to go on for hours about you."

"Hm?"

"He called you lazy, tardy," Iruka's hand itched to pin the small orange book the older man had buried his nose in with a kunai, "_perverted_, unsuitably harsh in your training regimes -- if you even decided to teach them that day at all -- and above everything else, a pathological _liar_."

"Is that so?" Kakashi nodded amiably as he turned a page.

"And from what evidence you have shown me, I'm inclined to agree!" Iruka got to his feet, Kakashi following him, adjusting his slouch to compensate for the finger pointed at him accusingly. "Now why exactly did you call me here, Kakashi-san, if not to finally put this to rest?"


	5. Chapter 5

-----------------------

AN: I'd like to thank all of you who left a review I'm glad this story is keeping you entertained; it is, after all, a thank you to the many authors I read myself.

Now this was actually supposed to be part of the last chapter…but, well, I know I'm not going to get much time in the next week to write (and since it would have made the last chapter extraordinarily long….) so it goes here.

I like writing these characters, as challenging as they are. Trying to establish a logical course of events based on personalities and histories while not ignoring the fact that Iruka is clearly a male and a shinobi and as such will not act like a woman (even if he does end up as uke…) apologizes to Iruka As such, Iruka's 'debt' is not going to be that easy to collect or to administer. I have a feeling Iruka's only likely to get more stubborn the longer Kakashi waits. I would also like to state that at this point in the fic, there is no romantic attachment to the debt. It's just there. Kakashi fronted it because he was bored.

…I'm also trying not to throw in canon characters simply because I need someone to fill a gap. (which is why you'll on occasion see the names of some of those random ninjas from obscure episodes; you can't always toss in Genma and Kurenai to play a role, they have jobs too you know.) For informational purposes, Aoba is the ninja with goggles that runs in when Kakashi is comatose and triggers Sasuke's stupidity. Inuzuka Hana is Kiba's elder sister, the vet.

My thoughts are only about two paragraphs into the next chapter; it may take awhile.

-----------------------

**Repository 5**

"You don't want to kiss me, do you Iruka."

"Of course not!" Iruka was hungry and tired and far too irritated by the silver-haired man for this discussion.

"I've been thinking about it for awhile now, and I have a proposition for you, sensei." Iruka was wary of the way serious words were accompanied by the devious glint in the older man's eye.

Iruka had been a shinobi for many years, and over that time he had been ingrained, and had ingrained in others, the concept of never underestimating one's opponent. He had done that with Kakashi once, and he did not intend to repeat his mistake another time. So Iruka tried to analyze the situation as Kakashi watched him, which was near _impossible_ to do with the nagging suspicion that Kakashi was probably doing the same of him.

From what he knew of Kakashi, the man's proposal would be something that profited him either through entertainment, leverage or favour. It was also likely to have sub-clauses and hidden additions that would not be taken at face value.

Or, Iruka realized with newfound dread, Kakashi's proposal could be something even worse.

To Iruka, being indebted to Kakashi twice meant twice the original debt; to Kakashi, perhaps it was invitation to a compounded debt. What exactly was equal to two kisses in Kakashi's mind? Iruka narrowed his eyes at the jounin watching him over his reading material.

"What do you want me to do?"

Kakashi must have understood the train of thought far better than Iruka had, because he smiled disarmingly and proposed something that hadn't even factored into the brown-haired chuunin's worries.

"I propose an exchange."

"What?"

"I will exchange one kiss, the original one, for the equal amount of meals prepared by you as consumed by your little pack of hellions, spread over the next few months until they are done."

"Why only one?" Iruka responded after a moment, still believing there was a catch hidden somewhere in his invitation.

"Because dear Iruka-san, you offered the second freely, and as of yet, I see no reason to exchange it." Kakashi snapped his book shut, and held out a hand to the chuunin. "Do you accept these terms? Or would you like me to –"

"I accept." Iruka shook the offered hand firmly. This, at least, was a reasonably manner to repay the jounin; he could worry about the Gai-incident later.

"Excellent. I expect the first tomorrow night."

"Where will you be?"

"You're a shinobi, Iruka-san. Find me."

------------

Kakashi concentrated once more, a soft green light surrounding his palm as he ran it carefully over his wrist. He winced slightly and the chakra vanished.

If anything, his wrist had gotten worse since that morning. It had begun to swell, and now he could barely move it. Of his thousand techniques, he had learned various healing jitsus, but none of them seemed to be working…or required both hands to perform.

That wasn't good. He knew Tsunade would be calling for him any time now to explain why he had fought all out in the first place, and if he showed up injured, things could get bad. Tsunade could not afford to have another jounin out of commission this week. So, that left finding someone who could quickly and discreetly mend his wrist, if only temporarily. He hoped Sakura was still on his side.

He found the pink-haired girl sitting on a small stone bench atop the Hokage monuments, a small, timid kunoichi next to her -- Hyuuga Hinata, his mind helpfully supplied, Yuuhei Kurenai's genin.

"Ah…Sakura-chan," Kakashi raised his good hand in salute as he landed on the railing before them, "Hinata-san."

"…Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said warily.

Not good, her guard was already up. "How is your training with Godaime going, Sakura-chan?"

"If this is about your fight with Gai-sensei –"

"Ka-Kakashi-san fought with Gai-san?" Hinata said worriedly from her place, looking still slightly flustered at his abrupt appearance.

"Yes, he did." Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Maa, we were only sparring, Sakura-chan…" It felt strange to him that he needed to convince his ex-genin to help him.

"But you got hurt, which is why you're here. You also don't want Tsunade to find out, which is why you didn't go to her or a certified medic." She was eying the hand he kept hidden in his pocket, he noticed, and he wondered when it was that she had learned to read him so well. "You should know, Kakashi-sensei, I'm under strict orders not to heal you myself."

"I see."

"Sa-Sakura-chan, surely we should do something…I mean…um," Hinata looked slightly awkward.

Kakashi eyed Hinata thoughtfully. "Sakura-chan…she said you were not to heal me, correct?"

"Yes."

"Hinata-san…you must be very good at chakra control, being of the Hyuuga clan. You showed remarkable knowledge of it in your chuunin exam," His eye curved happily, "and Kurenai speaks highly of you."

The purple-haired girl blushed. "Th-thank you, Kakashi-san."

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you getting at?"

He turned to meet Sakura's eyes. "You can't heal my wrist, Sakura-chan, because Godaime told you not to do it. I can't heal it because I don't know what's wrong with it. Hinata can discover what's wrong with it, and has enough control to do something about it."

"B-but Kakashi-san...I don't…I mean, I don't know as much as Sakura-chan about this sort of --"

"Which is why she can instruct you," His good hand landed on her shoulder, "Right, Sakura-chan?"

"Kakashi, the Godaime said –"

"…Nothing about you teaching a fellow Konoha shinobi how to conduct basic medical application. A skill that would ultimately benefit Konoha in the long run, perhaps even save lives." Sakura looked unconvinced. "I hear Tsunade-sama herself advocated more shinobi trained in the medical arts. Really, you'd be doing her proud, you know."

"I don't believe you," Sakura said, "But it will make you go away."

"Sa-sakura…"

"Come on, Hinata, you said you wanted to visit Hana's new dogs this afternoon. Let's finish here and head over."

The kunoichi both nodded resolutely and turned to Kakashi.

He smiled, bring his injured wrist forward for inspection.

It took time, but under the careful instruction of Sakura, Hinata managed to mend the fractures in his appendage.

Kakashi had noticed the bird circling about halfway through the procedure, as had Sakura, but neither had mentioned it. Sakura, because the jitsu was incomplete; Kakashi, because he had no doubt the Godaime expected him to be late anyhow.

-------------

"Kakashi, I would ask what the hell you two were thinking if I thought it would do any good." Tsunade had planted both fists on the desk, leaning forward and looking as though she wanted nothing more than to knock his head against Gai's. He wisely kept his eyes on her face and buried the lewd thoughts her position brought forward. "You two are supposed to be using this time to relax, or train or…something other than trying to one another!"

"With all respect, Godaime –"

"Don't even start, Gai. I know about your training methods, and while it is admirable to see such determination in your students, you are a grown man and should not drag others into such dangerous situations _off duty_. Kakashi, I shouldn't even have to _say_ this to you; don't use your _sharingan_ for frivolous things. If you have enough energy to engage in such a ridiculous affair, there are more than enough missions available to curb your needs. And _Gai_! Don't run away in the middle of a god-damn fight! I don't care if Lee-kun wanted to share that he finished five billion push-ups, or baked you a ludicrously green turtle-shaped cake!" Tsunade's office shook as she sat forcefully in her chair.

"I have five hundred Ryo on that fight too…" she muttered irately.

Kakashi exchanged looks with Gai.

"You're both grown men and it's not my job to reprimand you on what you do on your downtime, but you both know that I cannot remove you from active duty, so don't fuck yourselves up." She sighed, leaning back as she held Gai's eyes, "Gai, your mission for the next two days of your remaining break is to keep Aoba company. At the end of two days and no sooner, send him to me so I can have a little chat with him about acting as a bookie on sparring matches. And I don't want to hear of you engaging in activities that endanger the health of my shinobi for at least three weeks."

Gai bowed and disappeared through the window.

She turned back to Kakashi, the small smile she had acquired at the thought of Gai tailing Aoba turning grim.

"You, however, have an actual mission in three days." She looked at him over her steepled fingers, sizing him up as she spoke. "Did Sakura-chan fix you up?"

"I've been looked after."

"Good. Here are your mission details." She handed him a black scroll. "Time to dust off your blacks, Hound."

Kakashi accepted the scroll gingerly, his eye trained expressionless. The Godaime had the grace to look compassionate.

"You're the only one available."

"I know."


	6. Chapter 6

---------------------------------------------

AN: It just occurred to me. I have to apologize for making Gai run off mid fight; I will admit it's because I didn't want either to lose. Gai can beat Kakashi, and I was very close to writing a stalemate, but that would have tied up things later ( and don't ask how I know that, as I only know vague scenes in the immediate future and am working desperately hard at not succumbing to my usual story killer by writing the final scene before the middle.) Basically I'm as susceptible to the surprise of a plot twist as you are right now. I hope something horribly twisted doesn't fit in…if Kakashi ends up in Gai's bed, I want someone to throw something hard at me, even if it makes sense.

…

Oh godz…my mind actually started planning the events that led to that. decides it's time for sleep

And yes, I fell into the Fanon of calling ANBU by their masks. Bah. At this rate, Iruka will probably be obsessed with strawberries and hitting people with frying pans too. (not that I don't love those fics 3) No dolphins though; I'm beginning to abhor those references.

…I'm sorry that my chapters are short. My mind works faster than I can type. I'll try to make the next one longer.

---------------------------------------------

**Repository 6**

Iruka found Kakashi that night perched atop a water tower, not far from the academy grounds. The man was silently staring out across the rooftops, a kunai idly spinning every so often in his hand.

He masked his chakra and landed in the jounin's blind spot, vaguely curious as to why he would choose such a place for thought; for once, perhaps, having some time to study him before his proverbial mask slipped into place. Why would he choose so close to the academy? Maybe it had nothing to do with the building at all. The Hokage's office was nearby, perhaps there was the reason. Perhaps there was no reason at all.

A kunai – the same one Kakashi had been holding , Iruka noted – thudded into the wooden roof of the tower, barely missing the young teacher's foot.

"What the hell was that for!" Iruka nearly threw the package he was holding at the back of Kakashi's head. "Why would you throw that without knowing my intent!"

"Why would you mask your chakra if you didn't have an ulterior motive in mind?" Kakashi responded in beat, his eyes still trained on a distant rooftop, though Iruka had a feeling that wasn't what he was really seeing.

He sighed in slight exasperation, tugging the kunai free as he made his way over the curved roof. He sat down near Kakashi, stabbing the knife into the roof as he fiercely handed over the bag he had brought, trying hard not to imagine its contents spilled over his head.

Kakashi looked at it blankly.

"…take it."

"What is it?"

He was certain his eyebrow twitched. "Your dinner."

Kakashi opened the package, inspecting the contents carefully. "This is ramen."

"Yes."

"From Ichiraku."

"Yes."

Kakashi closed the package and held it out to Iruka.

"What are you doing?" Now it was Iruka's turn to look blank, though this lasted only a moment before suppressed anger began to boil anew.

"I can't accept t his; you didn't follow the rules." Kakashi said calmly, as though he were explaining to a child.

"I brought you dinner, what –"

"I said it had to be made by you."

"I don't have time to make –"

"Iruka-san, you agreed to my terms. Are you telling me now that you would break your word?"

Iruka just couldn't find it in him to argue anymore. Kakashi was right. He was _always_ right. He should have expected it. "I'll remember that for next time."

"I expect you to try again tomorrow." He pulled his kunai free, spinning it once.

"Same place?"

"Maybe." Kakashi had turned back to his sombre roof vigil.

"Of all the places in Konoha, why would you choose the roof of a water tower." Iruka muttered, mostly to himself.

"This tower provides the academy, doesn't it?" He shifted his gaze to the outcropping of red-roofed buildings.

"Yes."

"We've had quite the trouble with water lately, haven't we."

Iruka nodded silently, his eyes following two figures disappearing down a distant road.

When the sound nin had attacked, the village had sustained massive damage. Piping and electric lines had been decimated by both shinobi and Summons; the very tower they now sat on had been recently erected, the previous having been blown away by a wayward jitsu in the heat of the attack. He was thankful the children had been moved deep inside the mountain safeholds by that time; the school itself had been impaled by its remains.

The school had been without plumbing for a week before water was diverted, and another two before the tower had been seen to.

And even after the battle, when rebuilding had finally seemed to end and systems restocked, once again destruction on home soil had ensued. And though two members of team seven had been involved, no one could find the will to blame the blonde Hokage hopeful or his dark rival. There had been too much pain already, and buildings could be remade. However, the hospital had been forced to use diverted water as well from surrounding buildings while their two main towers were repaired.

Shortly after, there had been an 'incident' along the river. Only three people in Konoha knew the full story of that day when Kakashi returned carrying a battered Naruto home, both drenched and worn; one in body, both in spirit. It had diverted parts of the river and its tributaries that supplied the village and restoring it to its original path had taken weeks to sort out.

It had not been a good few months.

"Are you trying to tell me that you chose to sit on this tower to safeguard our academy's water supply?"

"I'm tired of restricted shower times." Kakashi smiled, his eye arching happily.

"Hn." He felt out of place, perched atop Konoha under the night sky next to one of Konoha's most recluse shinobi. "Is something wrong, Kakashi-san?"

As far as he knew, the man had shared none of his personal life or past with his peers – not even Gai-sensei. The most people of Konoha knew of the grey-haired nin was either on his file or hearsay from those old enough to remember his father. Iruka had been four at the time. But that night there seemed to be a tension in the air about him that was otherwise absent, not even his calculated slouch managing to shield it entirely.

"Why would you say that?" The man hadn't even moved at Iruka's words, giving no outward signs at all that he was hiding anything at all. Iruka hesitated, maybe he wasn't; he didn't know him very well after all. But everyone needed to know there was someone to talk to, right? That was what he had been teaching Konoha's children for years, and as dysfunctional as they were, they seemed to be getting along just fine. Well, mostly.

"Teacher's intuition?" His reply sounded weak, even to his ears. It had worked for Naruto…could Kakashi even _be_ compared to the blonde? They both had a rocky past, perhaps there was more in common than people thought.

And there it was again, that miniscule flicker of _something_.

"I expect my dinner to arrive by sunset, Iruka-san." Kakashi stood, stowing his kunai away as he did. "Something you have made."

Iruka raised a hand in recognition as a soft wind rushed over him signifying the jounin's departure. Then again, sometimes people just liked to be alone.

---------

By the next day, Kakashi's shoulder was developing into a rather lovely shade of puce. He shifted slightly in his seat attempting to find a better position to continue reading. His chakra reserves still weren't completely restored, and he knew he would need as much as he could get in two days to complete his mission in one piece.

Sometimes he envied his blonde charge's exuberant enthusiasm. It never seemed to matter how often or how hard he had pushed the boy; after one day's rest, he was always as buoyant as he had been the previous day. It had to be something to do with the kyuubi inside accelerating the process of recuperation, he mused, but he would have to confer with Jiraiya to see if his suspicions were correct. Who knew, perhaps the boy really did just have an imperishable spirit that drove him. There was only so much pushing Kakashi could do with his team without being unfair to his other team mates.

His team was dead though, if not literally, then for all intents and purposes. Now all he could do for them was watch and hope they had learned enough from him to survive their future. But all the same, it was sad to think that their future would lie in their ability to steal the futures of others.

The words before his eyes where just a blur, his unfocused gaze fixated on the curves of a porcelain ghost. White as bone and red as blood. He had survived it once before, he could do it again. Barely, came the thought, you barely survived.

It was then that pink invaded his senses, a colour that had no place in his memories, and he raised his eyes, scratching absently at his neck. "Sakura-chan, good evening."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura offered him a polite bow, carefully holding a box with both hands. "Iruka-sensei was called to Tsunade's office, and he sends his apologies for being unable to deliver this on his own."

Kakashi tried not to wince at the withdrawn politeness of the girl he had seen in anger and tears, determination and stubbornness. The really _were_ growing apart. "Thank you Sakura-chan."

He looked at the lidded bento box now in his lap for a moment, wondering what Iruka's response tonight would be. Sakura stood silently next to him, and he knew that she was curious herself as to why Iruka had sent it. Just how much had Iruka told the girl?

When the lid was lifted, Kakashi began to laugh without restraint, frightening Sakura enough that she backed away a few steps. He was glad to know the chuunin still had his spirit.

"Kakashi-sensei, why would Iruka-sensei give you that?"

"He owed me dinner. Extend my thanks to the good sensei when you return." Kakashi stood and returned home in good spirits, leaving a very confused pink-haired girl in the twilight.

That night he enjoyed his box of white rice. Iruka's note was pinned to his wall before he retired to bed.

'_Dinner, made by one Umino Iruka. Don't forget your manners, and eat every last grain 3.'_


	7. Chapter 7

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AN: …sorry.

I don't intend to let this go unfinished, I just have so many other things that require attention.

I'd like to thank the people who reviewed…they actually reminded me that I _had_ in fact written a fanfic, which is odd in itself. If the next chapter takes three months or more to come out, you might want to poke me with a cattle prod just to make sure I'm still kicking.

and I have yet to master the skill of chapter length. Sorry.

---------------

**Repository 7**

Iruka quickly stepped aside as a man bolted past him, attempting to gain access to the building he has just exited. His attempt was in vain, however, as he was engulfed in a green blur, falling face first into the ground. Iruka winced in sympathy for the man now bound in thick cords.

A grinning Maito Gai stood poised above him, one foot balanced on the man's back. Aoba, Iruka's mind supplied.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei! Lovely day, is it not?" Konoha's Beautiful Blue Beast said enthusiastically as he dusted his hands.

Iruka assumed it was better not to question the situation and took his lead from Gai, both men completely ignoring the man trussed beneath his foot.

"Good day, Maito-san."

"Just yesterday I was telling dear Lee-kun how very important it is to enjoy days such as these as often as one can between training; it helps strong shinobi learn the beauty of the land they protect!" Iruka could swear he saw Gai's eyes go misty at his own words, and there was a muffled protest from Aoba as more of Gai's weight was shifted amidst his dramatics.

"Ah…yes, quite true. Maito-san, I was wondering actually if I might have some of your time. If you're not busy, that is – I mean, I know sometimes you're occupied with something…" Iruka did his best not to look pointedly at the bound chuunin.

"But of course, Iruka-sensei!" Gai looked at the sun as if judging something, "Yes that seems about right. Exactly two days and no sooner."

"Pardon me?"

Aoba's struggling became more prominent.

"If you would wait a moment, I have to deliver Aoba-san to the Hokage." Gai offered a bow and threw the chuunin over his shoulder as he marched into the administration building.

Iruka stood dumbly in place, a distinct crash and what could only be Tsunade's voice wafting through the upper windows. Shortly thereafter, he was rejoined by Gai and they began walking down from the monument, leaving Shizune, Aoba and Tsunade to their own business.

As they traversed, Iruka learned a great deal about the progress of team ten and, though Gai's…enthusiasm sometimes astonished him, he found their journey together rather enjoyable. Really, Gai had been a wonderful choice to lead that cell. He inspired Lee, gave confidence to Ten-Ten – even managed to act as a foil for some of the Hyuuga's engineered angst.

They had exited the city proper by now, following the flow of the river into the trees. Iruka wondered vaguely where Gai was leading him, but he was glad that at least the questions he had really approached the green man for were far less likely to be overheard.

Iruka found himself blinking as they approached a small encampment set up beside the river, complete with one-man standard issue tent, a short rope supporting two green unitards he could only assume were Gai's, and a ridiculous amount of fresh wood for only one man.

"Is this where you're living?" He found that somewhat strange.

Konoha took care of her soldiers, and each was given the option of housing in one of the bachelor apartments within the city limits. Some, he admitted, were rather small – no more than one room – but his, like Anko's had enough for a small sitting area with attached kitchenette as well as a private bath. Gai could easily have one of those, and Iruka thought he already did.

"Training, Iruka-sensei, training!" He began piling wood and starting a fire, "Every so often it is better for one's health and endurance to spend months in the wild! One is never to know when such skills will come in handy for long missions!"

Iruka nodded with enthusiasm he really didn't have for the notion. Long missions made him thankful that he had a bed to return to and a roof over his head. And this was hardly wilderness – the village was less than ten minutes behind them…but if it made Gai happy…

"Will you be joining me for lunch, sensei?" Iruka was mildly alarmed as Gai stripped down to his undergarment, very thankful that there was in fact an undergarment to strip down to, and as a result nearly failed to realize Gai had said anything at all.

"Pardon?"

"Should I catch enough fish for you too, then?"

"Oh – um… that would be nice."

So Iruka sat by the fire, poking at it with one of the sticks as Gai stood poised in the river, every so often darting a hand in the water and tossing his catch on the bank. When this occurred, Iruka would take the fish and impale it upon a long stake, propping it over the fire.

When the task was done, and there was a sizeable amount of prepared food, Gai waded back and sat by the fire to dry, cheerfully making his way through his first fish.

"So, Maito-san, how long have you known Hatake-san?" He figured that was a safe enough way to begin to gather intelligence on his jounin adversary. And he _was_ and adversary now, had been since the moment he had let Iruka's carpet stain…

…initiated the debt…

…though the fact that he had just _left_ the cup there…

"Since back in his first few years of ANBU, I think. Though it's hard to say, if you know what I mean… never quite sure."

Iruka nodded absently. ANBU operatives were supposed to remain masked and without an identity, even amongst their own friends. It wasn't until they, the lucky ones, retired, or their other personas stopped showing up for missions, that anyone knew who wore the porcelain masks.

"And have you been challenging him this long?"

Gai gave him a strange look, almost disbelieving. "Iruka –sensei, he and I have only partaken together a minimal – though each quite important and influential – amount of spontaneous training events. Barely over one hundred. To have known him for exactly twelve years, three months and seven days and only have competed such a small amount? No, my first direct challenge to my worthy opponent was quite a few years after our initial encounter."

"You know…your worthy rival has challenged me." Iruka said as offhandedly as he could manage, now starting into his second helping.

"Ah-ha! And no doubt you have come to inquire as to the methods and techniques with which I myself use in besting my esteemed rival?"

"Well not –"

Iruka's eyes widened as Gai snatched one of his infamous suits from the line, dangling it before the chuunin's nose. "Dear Naruto-kun asked a similar favour and was overjoyed to receive such a strikingly fashionable item!"

"I…thank you." Iruka accepted the garment graciously albeit gingerly, "I lost his initial challenge however, but I don't intend to lose again."

"That's the attitude!" Gai punctuated his enthusiasm with his now bare fourth stick of fish. "What are you doing to prepare yourself? Physically? Mentally? Spiritually?"

"Well…" Iruka wondered how to play this, "I am testing my ability of knowing my opponent by learning how to cater to his appetite?"

The words seemed horribly forced and inaccurate to him, but Gai seemed to find them perfectly acceptable.

"I was actually wondering if you might have some insight as to what I should prepare for him? Anything I should avoid?"

Gai nodded to himself, hand on chin, and Iruka could tell the exuberant man was thinking very deeply about something else at the same time.

"Not tempura – he used to eat it, but after challenge number thirty-seven he hasn't gone near it…say, Iruka-sensei," Gai had That Look in his eyes that Iruka had been aiming for, and yet made him vaguely wary, " I truly believe you are onto something with this idea! It is possible that the only way I will discover the means by which to understand and surpass my hip rival is to appeal to his base instincts thus making them my own! And what better way to accomplish this than through his dietary means?"

"But not tempura."

"No. He will unleash his noble hounds upon you, leaving you stranded in a tree if he sees you with the intent to give it to him." Gai responded earnestly, "the large one is surprisingly agile and quick."

Iruka decided that he probably didn't want to know the story behind that, just as he didn't want to know why Aoba was wanted bound and gagged by the Hokage.

That night Kakashi found a large bento of tempura sitting on his windowsill.

What he found mildly perplexing was the dog biscuit nestled in the centre.


	8. Chapter 8

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A.N.:

I hate this chapter. I hate having to move logic plot without the relative freedom of banter and interaction. My writing style is such that I write scenes that captivate my attention and ignore the ones that glue them together. Which is probably why I'd be far better at writing oneshots. But since I still have my reservations about writing fanfics in general, I doubt that is going to happen any time soon. Maybe a Tatsumi/Watari…

But I must say that the more I write Tenzou's character, the more I want to see him with Kakashi, even if it's simply a crack image. XD After Iruka, he is most certainly the next person I would pair with him.

And yes, I realize that 'hn-ed' is not a word. It should be. Far better than my alternative of 'subtle non-commital expression of mild amusement'.

I had planned to make this longer, but I do my plotting before I fall asleep, and in doing so a lot of what is actually planned is forgotten or constructed by half unconscious me and thus really makes no sense in the actual writing process. Whatever, back to Iruka next chapter.

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**Repository 8**

All shinobi are trained from a young age to sleep lightly, alert at a moment's notice to the slightest change in their surroundings. As such, it was very rare for a shinobi to oversleep, and regardless of what Hatake Kakashi told his students, he himself never indulged in the practice.

Well, maybe once or twice, when the sun hit his wall at just the right angle, and the chorus of avian voices reached just the right note he would roll over in complete comfort and ignore the voice telling him to stand.

Today happened to be just that sort of day, much to Kakashi's dismay, but he had a mission to see to. And so he watched the sunlight reflecting perfectly off his walls, and listened to the choir singing the perfect tune, and he got up.

He couldn't afford not to, even if his shoulder was protesting stiffly and his wrist felt mostly numb.

The uniform that awaited him as he slid open his closet grinned cheekily back, and so he shut it once more. Instead, he made his way to his small bathroom, pulling out a white roll, deftly wrapping his wrist in a manner that betrayed years of experience.

This wasn't the first time that he was thankful for the long clawed gloves that were standard issue for all A.N.B.U. . Hopefully it would be the last.

He spent the next hour of his morning polishing his kunai, preparing himself some semblance of breakfast and generally ignoring what hung mockingly just behind him.

Kakashi methodically counted the contents of his pack, made a quick calculation in his head and stood. There was no putting it off any longer. After all, there was only so long that he could avoid donning his black ghost, and now circumstance necessitated a trip to the A.N.B.U. tower.

As a child, every shinobi hopeful is given the gift of a set number of kunai and shuriken. It is the first task of a child to learn how to care for and handle the basic weapons of all shinobi, and to keep their pack maintained and up to standards. This pack is the one that will remain with them for their entire career. Unsurprisingly, there is little to no concern that a child might injure themselves horrendously with these tools, as there is the need for them to learn for themselves how to handle them efficiently and accurately; as though they are extensions of their own body. The only way to teach a child an object is sharp is for them to see for themselves.

Children who wished to become tailors were not forbid a needle and thread, or bakers flour and yeast. A shinobi child who could not handle their tools would never be able to grow up to defend Konoha.

Kakashi had long since lost every kunai and shuriken that had originally been in his pack.

It wasn't that he had been trying to lose them, but missions were sometimes like that, and during such missions there simply wasn't enough time to go back and collect your tools from their respectfully imbedded places. Like as not, they would have been blown apart by explosive tags anyhow. It had come out of his salary each time to replace them.

On higher ranked missions however, often shinobi would discover that they required more tools than allotted in their standard packs, and in such cases would need to follow form and procedure to procure more. Kakashi knew this was just such a case, especially since he intended to do as little taijutsu combat as he could avoid.

It wasn't long before he landed before the doors of the tower, the two guards eyeing him suspiciously. Rookies, he noted, nodding his white masked face to them as he passed. Only one ever wore the same mask until the day they died, and even then it was unusual; so far it had only happened twice that Kakashi could remember, and they had been family.

Be that as it was, there was no doubt in his mind that the guards had been startled more by his Hound mask than by his abrupt appearance. The Hound had quite a history.

Once inside, he made his way to the administration portion of the building, quickly taking note that there was significantly less on duty than he had come to expect, though it didn't come as much of a surprise.

Kakashi ambled up to the large scarred man that sat behind a stack of papers; the one man that had no need to wear a mask in this facility.

"Ibiki-san," he nodded politely.

"Hound." He replied gruffly, not even glancing up from his duties.

"You have less pets hanging about; they stick you with the paperwork?"

"Hn," Ibiki took the time to give him a look that clearly said he was not amused, "Standard squads have been cut to three."

That was interesting, though again, not surprising if he himself had been called back to duty. With only nine A.N.B.U. on active duty within the village border, Konoha was far more vulnerable than she had been in years. Over a decade.

"I assume you came here for supplement. You know the drill."

Kakashi tossed his mission scroll at the man who caught it deftly, slouching as Ibiki scanned it over.

"No."

"What was that?" He had expected to have to argue his way somewhere, but he had _not_ anticipated a direct refusal. They had always given him what he had requested before.

"No, you will not get another pack for this mission." Ibiki tossed the scroll back unceremoniously.

"It is S-rank or higher, Ibiki-san. With all due respect –"

"For this type of mission the extra weight will only slow you down. You can handle anything that comes up without having to resort to expending our equipment."

"Half a pack, shuriken only." This was not good. He had been on this type of mission before, and knew without a doubt that with his current condition there was a high likelihood of confrontation. Not that he could use that as an excuse.

"I will authorize one additional clip, no more." The tone of Ibiki's reply offered no further room for discussion on the topic, and yet demanded he prove why he had made the request in the first place.

Kakashi nodded stiffly, stowing his mission scroll away. Damned if he admitted his weaknesses to this man.

- - -

He shifted Mr. Ukki in his hands as he stood before a non-descript wooden door.

When the door finally opened, a man with dark spiked hair looked out with mild curiousity, his eyes landing upon the potted plant held in front of his nose.

"Ah…Kakashi-senpai," he moved aside to allow space for the masked man to enter, "Tea?"

"Tenzou, a pleasure." Kakashi nodded, making his way to the man's table. The small apartment was filled with assorted plants, all growing remarkably well for a man who was so often away on missions himself. He smiled a bit as he felt the familiar hum of chakra in the air.

Tenzou hn-ed in amusement as he began putting on some tea. "I suppose this means you are leaving on a mission, then?"

"You read me well." He replied from his lounging position.

"…it has nothing to do with the fact that you have left Ukki-san with me for the past seven longer missions that you have undertaken."

"Oh, but he likes it here; gives him muscle."

"Of course, senpai."

"You've only just returned, no? No chance of you being called away so soon."

Tenzou placed a cup before Kakashi with a soft clink. "I only just returned from my debriefing at the tower, though you already knew this or you would not have honoured me with this visit."

"I may have heard a few things while I was there about a cat taking a short nap."

"And I have heard that I only just missed a public bout between the senpai and Maito-san. Rat claims to have benefited well from the encounter." Tenzou offered the man a small smile, "Word amongst the tower is that there was a chuunin involved."

Kakashi nodded sagely to himself in an exaggerated mimicry of Gai. "Is that so?"

"I get it," the man chuckled softly, "back only a few hours and the rumour mill is flooding with the Kakashi-senpai's feats. Did he truly run away?"

"Maa, by the time I return it will have fallen back to Raidou and Genma's personal drama," he tactfully avoided confirming or denying anything; there was at least some hope that in doing so Gai would not chase after him for calling him a coward, "They have leave together at the moment."

"Of course, senpai."

Kakashi's tea had disappeared over the span of their conversation, but Tenzou had come to expect that from the ex-A.N.B.U. He stood now, giving the pot one last affectionate pat.

"I'm trusting you to take good care of Ukki-san, like always." He said seriously.

"It is an honour to have the Kakashi-senpai's faith." Tenzou returned.

Kakashi's eye curved happily as he saluted goodbye. "Let it not be said that cats and dogs can't get along."

The dark-haired man smirked from his doorway, eyes following the casual slouch as it made its way down the street and out of sight.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: **

Hey look, I updated. I think over the last year I got far too distracted by the scanlations of this series and all the awesomeness of the latest fights and and…thank gods, Shikamaru, _finally_. On both fronts. Also, lately I've been drawn back a few years and fallen headlong once more into FF7 fandoms, and naturally KH. So. Until the filler stops in Naruto and I can't use factual discrepancies as an excuse anymore, I'll probably be very slow updating still…which means probably not until May when university stops eating my soul.

Had anyone told Iruka, even a year ago, that Nara Shikamaru would be his temporary teaching assistant, he would have recommended them for a medical examination. Perhaps a visit to Morino Ibiki.

It wasn't that he didn't think the child was intelligent enough, Shikamaru was brilliant; it was a matter of applying himself. Though Iruka had been unable to attend that year's exams, he felt a vague sense of pride that his student had finally come through and shown what he had been pushing for.

He only hoped that being stuck in a classroom with rowdy shinobi hopefuls managed by less than sufficient staffing would prove favourable. Or at least prove escapable unscathed for the both of them.

Today was Wednesday. Usually this would mean that it was far enough away from the weekend to keep their attention focused, and close enough to the start of the week that they would still be interested in learning. On Wednesdays, the chuunin teacher and his assistants would usher the children down to the training yard for an afternoon of throwing sharpened metal objects at both stationary and moving targets, and really, it was better on all accounts to have their complete concentration on the task. Less chance of them thinking it would be more fun to throw at each other…or the unseasoned assistant.

However, the arranging of the classes this week had shot that carefully mapped out plan clean out of the sky. Suzume had finally returned from her latest mission, and was due back in the field by the next week at the latest, which meant her classes took priority at the moment.

So the class had been split, and the kunoichi special training had commenced. It was the one class that he decidedly did not like teaching.

This period of time was divided for the male shinobi so that various aspects could be worked on. And while this included endurance training, it also included etiquette and a cursory look into the proper use of henge that the majority of females did not require. Naruto as a genin proved just how useful this class could actually be, regardless of how difficult it was on the instructors.

The fates had insisted that today be of the etiquette ilk, and Iruka found himself vaguely amused by the manner in which Shikamaru dealt with questions from the children. _Why do boys have to learn how to be girls? What does flower arranging have to do with shinobi? Are you a girl?_

Surprisingly, Shikamaru had an exceptional talent at explaining things rationally and precisely. He was a genius after all, and it seemed that his ability to read people applied even to temperamental preteens. However, his methods were proving far too lengthy in delivery, which was surprising considering the Nara's dislike for extended efforts.

With a simple Ram seal and a wisp of smoke the class was, to say the least, startled by the appearance of Tsunade.

Iruka nodded his blonde head towards Shikamaru, "Shizune, if you don't mind."

He turned back to his class, a perfectly manicured hand resting casually at his hip as honey eyes surveyed the young faces. "What if we were to take the place of the Godaime and Shizune-sama? Would any of you be able to tell the difference?"

The class was silent.

"The most important thing to remember as a shinobi is that appearances can be deceiving. You need to learn these lessons so that you can tell the difference when an enemy shinobi attempts to fool you, and so that you in turn may fool them." Iruka started making faces at the children in the front row, eliciting muffled snickers. "Now what do you know about Tsunade-sama? About Shizune?"

"She likes sake!"

"Shizune?" Iruka feigned surprise as he procured an empty bottle from his desk, plunking it in front of Shikamaru. "Shizune-sama, they think you're a drunkard, I'm afraid."

Shikamaru swayed convincingly, offering a hiccup.

"Udon-kun!" Iruka pointed at the snivelling boy, "The Yamanaka family, what do they do?"

Udon cast a panicked look at Konahamaru who was gesturing wildly. "Um, they run a flower shop, Tsuna – Iruka-sensei."

Tsunade was replaced with Ino holding a giant sunflower.

"Now what if my mission required me to take her place?" Here Iruka, gestured with the flower. "Without training, I don't know what this means, do you? But any girl working at a flower shop would. To give this flower to the wrong person could prove disaterous, and – what is it Tomari-kun?"

The dark-haired boy had been pointing rather shocked at the classroom door, and it wasn't until Iruka turned around that he realized why. "Shizune-sama!"

He had never seen anyone drop a henge at the speed Shikamaru displayed.

----

Not enough time. Close – too close. Not enough distance, not enough time.

They were gaining.

A few feet. A few feet…not much and yet too much. If – no, when – when they caught up he wouldn't have time, space, energy. Shuriken would do nothing. A few shards of metal – they wouldn't even slow them down. As caltrops maybe, but he didn't have enough, never enough. He had already removed everything unessential from his small pack; it was standard procedure for all ANBU, back at the village.

Things always fucked up. Why were things never according to plan? He raged silently as he ran, anger the only emotion he could allow himself. No place for fear. Fear would get him killed, and he refused to die here. Damned if he resigned himself to that fate.

He had survived worse odds. An ANBU's life was always saturated with danger and the guarantee of metal embedded in flesh with every mission.

He couldn't help but curse Ibiki, curse Gai – curse that insufferable chunnin for making him take the fight seriously enough to drain more chakra than he could now afford. He had been teasing the man, _teasing_. Why had he let the man drag guilt and obligation into the mix?

The porcelain dog felt restrictive against his face, his mask retaining moisture and clinging in an irritatingly distracting manner from his harsh breath. Why hadn't he removed it? Had it been so long that he had forgotten it would do this under strain?

He cursed as there was the distinct sound of _something_ whistling through the air.

Change. Duck and weave. No pattern. _No pattern._

He had been too slow; hadn't anticipated the scout. He had _known_ he would make a mistake like that. Damn Ibiki. He would be needing those kunai soon. There was no way he would be able to block all their attacks by simply dodging or with only his hands.

Couldn't send his dogs with the information; no time to tell them They'd disappear if he died anyhow. The additional scroll – the one that had started this…if they disappeared, the scroll would either be dropped useless in the forest, or picked up by the wrong hands. Couldn't let that happen.

Bury it? Chance of no side finding it. Not enough time to do it properly.

There was that sound again…and the branch under his foot was sliced away. That could be dealt with, they only meant to slow him.

Force the chakra into his arms, push off and land with feet ready to keep moving keep moving keep – there was a flare of pain in his arm, it collapsed beneath him, sending him into the forest floor.

He had miscalculated. It hadn't healed enough to take the sstrain. He should have seen a medic; should have told Tsunade to bolster his energy.

Kakashi had a kunai out and adopted a defence stance before they had even realized his mistake. The remained of his shuriken cast into the ground before him.

It wasn't a fight he needed an unquestioned victory, just disable them long enough to run again.

_And then what?_ He sneered.

No. As long as he reached the patrolled forests of Fire Country, he could find support.

He just needed to last that long.


	10. Chapter 10

Thirty four days

**AN:** Uh…so yes. An update of sorts? I apologize to everyone who was lovely enough to send me comments and who were waiting, what…a good year now? Probably. I want to finish, I really do – my interest in writing subject matter has changed a great deal though, so it's almost painful to drag through. I'll try to get back into this though…I hope. Jiraiya hit me pretty hard a few months back, and I haven't had time to do much of anything, so all the 'must-do-now' art and things have been stacking up. Euagh, enough rambling. These chapters seem so ridiculously short now. Hopefully more next time…whenever that is.

**Repository: Chapter 10**

ooo

Thirty four days.

For thirty four days he followed his routine. Woke up, went to work, prepared dinner and went searching. Thirty four days of wandering aimlessly about Konoha searching for a flash of silver, or orange, or a black slouching shadow. Thirty four days that all ended with a box of leftovers and an unsettling disappointment.

Oh, after the first three or four days, he had known that the masked man had left the village. He knew that the jounin wouldn't know either way if he had stopped. He _knew_ it was a good waste of his resources and cut deeply into his own time; often his sleep.

But Hatake Kakashi hadn't told him he was going away. Hadn't told him when to expect him back. Hadn't deemed it necessary to even _inform _the brown-haired chuunin that he needn't come that night, or the night after, or the thirty two nights after that.

His pride would have none of it. Besides, there was no way to tell what the man's reaction would be when he finally did return. For all he knew, it was another of Kakashi's games -- trying to trap him yet again because he hadn't thought of the same twists; the same catches.

No, it was better to play things carefully.

At least, that was the initial reason.

Knowing that the man wasn't in Konoha, meant that as time went on, he wandered the village less and less. More often, daybreak would find him slumped against the door to the jounin's apartment. Sometimes curled on his own couch, pulled up near an open window, bento left clearly visible on the sill.

If the other villagers noticed, they knew better than to interfere in the peculiar habits of shinobi.

If the other shinobi noticed, well…they knew better than to interfere in the peculiar habits of shinobi. Most of them, at least.

The first week had Maito Gai trailing him with bentos of his own. The second, third and part of the fourth had Maito Gai trailing him, keeping up a near constant barrage of poetic verse meant as a deterrent to what was assumed as a waste of his efforts- that Hatake Kakashi would find his dedication Very Considerate and a Noble Exemplar of Youthful Determination, but essentially _pointless_ endeavor.

Hearing that from Gai had been…revealing.

He started avoiding Gai; avoiding his own home, where Gai was sure to find him. It had become a habit now. It was…comforting in a strange way.

He wasn't hurting anyone, and if it started affecting his work, no doubt the Godaime would have something to say about it. Aside from that, it really wasn't the village's concern what he did.

So he kept making dinners, and he kept waiting; and he kept wondering just why he did it.

ooo

Yuugao had served many Tuesdays for Konoha's A.N.B.U., running patrols between missions. Tuesdays were good days, if not a little boring.

From her experience, ninjas didn't like working on Tuesdays, and as a direct result, she had yet to encounter any invasions, spies or generally incompetent vigilantes attempting to wreak havoc on Konoha's borders on said weekday.

Yes, Tuesdays were good days.

Then again, a lack of activity left for far too much introspection in the quiet nights.

Moonlight brought too many memories of a dark-haired lover and swords that illuminated the night.

Alright, so that was another bad thing about working nightshifts; romanticizing Hayate and twisting his techniques into poetic prose. Hayate's techniques were about blinding and misdirecting the focus of his opponents. He had spent a good deal of time with her, trying to teach her how to detect such things. It had saved her more than once.

But sometimes she couldn't help but fantasize him into something more – taller, more assured of himself. Still alive.

That last one was the bane of many.

Her thoughts were interrupted rather rudely when there was a whistling sound and the dull thunk of more than one object impacting wood near her feet.

Well, that wasn't normal – at least for local wildlife.

_Bear, we've got a problem._ She signaled to the large man keeping vigil to her left. It looked like it wouldn't be a peaceful evening after all.

ooo

There was a fine line between friendship and stalking, it occurred to Iruka after the third week. A fine line, and a good deal of hiding.

He'd always been good at hiding; a childhood of mischief and a mob of angry villagers made that essential, even beyond his line of work. That mishap with Shikamaru and Shizune had made the skill quite useful.

But Gai…Maito Gai gave a whole new meaning to avoidance and misdirection. Iruka was quite certain he'd invented at least six new techniques in the process, and was likely to need more once the latest had been discovered…

It would end, he hoped, when that perverted jounin finally made a reappearance, but until then he would have to measure out his 'Gai face time' carefully.

He sighed, tying the cloth firmly around the bento, preparing for yet another day paranoia.

ooo

"I'll be fine." The Hound was limping, catching himself with his good hand on the charred remains of a tree as he stumbled. "I need to see the Hokage…"

Yuugao reined in an exasperated sigh, easily catching up with the exhausted man. When they had found him, she estimated he had only been fighting for approximately two minutes, but already the forest had suffered severe collateral damage. Clean slices, scorched wood; it hadn't turned out much better once they had joined the fray.

He'd been weaponless – if he'd had one, it had probably been dropped near the point his hand had been crushed. He'd need that looked at first, if he was to use it again. It was hard to imagine the Hound needing support in battle – _he_ had always been the one to bring the team home.

She held up her hand, face impassive, even beneath the porcelain beast. "Hound, look at me."

Bear worked well with her, and she was thankful for that. If he didn't, she'd have had to signal her order, and Hound would have caught her deception even before he moved into place.

"Look I just need to sleep it off. Say what you must so I can go find a bed."

"I have nothing to say to you, soldier. I just needed time for Bear to get behind you."

Hound slumped to the ground without a sound under the larger man's hand, and Yuugao knew that he would have another lump to add to his collection come morning. It was preferable, however, than discovering he had died in the night – she would be held responsible now, after all.

She nodded to Bear as he shouldered the limp form, taking off towards Konoha. All that was left now was to collect the assailant's tags, cover their tracks and wait for the next shift to arrive. She just hoped he hadn't dragged a greater threat down upon them now that she was alone.

ooo

"You are seven times the fool Hatake."

He cracked open an eye, squinting at the silhouette in the window. It was bright…white; this wasn't his home. Sterile. Not the forest either then.

It was remarkably comfortable in bed, even if he couldn't feel any of his limbs.

"What did I do this time?" It was hard to concentrate. There must have been some sort of drug in his system; pain relief most likely. His left hand wouldn't move.

"Where should I start?" Her silhouette crossed its arms in a menacingly aggressive manner. Really, couldn't she be a bit gentler with an invalid, he thought vaguely. "You really fucked up with Bird Country. Next time, I don't care what your reasons are; you _will_ see medical nin a minimum of three hours before you leave on mission. I can't spare the staff, but apparently it's a necessity."

"Did the scroll –"

"It's with the code breakers as we speak, but I'm not done with you." Her silhouette grew larger as she approached the bed, arms crossed and glaring. "There is the matter concerning one of my shinobi that you are directly responsible for."

"I've been gone for over a month –" He didn't socialize; how could he possibly be responsible for someone else's actions while he had even been in the village? It didn't make _sense_.

"Which is exactly the issue at hand."

"I don't follow."

"For God's sake, Hatake, I gave you three days before you left to prepare yourself. In _three days_ you didn't think to at least inform your lover that you wouldn't be around? I don't care if you're trying to keep it below radar but I won't have my shinobi worrying themselves sick over an irresponsible brat like you."

"Lover?" Well he hadn't seen that one coming. Since when did he have a lover? If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that he would have been quite aware if he had been sleeping with anyone.

"Don't you dare deny it." She snapped, "If word is true, he's been waiting for you every night since you left. Even Sakura-chan's been getting worried about him! Probably asleep at your door even now, Hatake. I need him healthy and _awake. _The only reason I haven't demanded a change in the situation is because it's _your_ damn responsibility."

"Umino _Iruka_?" He knew he had been forgetting something when he left – he'd just assumed it was the anxiety over his success with Morino Ibiki.

"I want to see you treating him better, or you'll be taking as many D-ranks as fit in your week. Do you have any _idea_ how hard it is to find someone as competent as he is with filing _and_ has the clearance? If that man is unhappy, all of Konoha is unhappy!"

He assumed that meant that Shizune would be unhappy at not being able to split her workload, which would mean Tsunade would not be happy to enjoy her favored pastimes. He could see how that could easily lead to a village-wide discontent.

ooo

She hadn't been lying, it seemed, Kakashi thought with a detached confusion as he crouched in the branches.

He had been watching his apartment every night for a week, just to be sure…but she hadn't been lying. Part of him wished she was. The other -traitorous- part found it intriguing.

That part was hopeful.

There had to be some reason…something that explained why – _right!_ The deal they had made.

Surely he had known that the jounin had gone on a mission by _now_? Perhaps he was giving the man too much credit. Did he think that Kakashi was the sort to ask this time devotion of him on whim?

…okay, so maybe that _was_ the sort of thing he'd ask for…but he wouldn't actually expect them to _follow_ it! Not to this extent.

…it was somewhat –dare he say it- _endearing_ in a way. The brown-haired man curled against the door and wall, head lolled to one side. If he wasn't careful, Kakashi knew he might grow accustomed to the sight of the chunin asleep like this. In that case, Tsunade ba-chan's assumptions may not run unfounded for long.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow he would open his door for the chunin, but for tonight- tonight he would watch again to make sure that no one harassed the brunet. Not at all because he wanted to see the dazed, bleary look on his face when, around three forty-five, he would be startled awake by the morning guard shifts, and slowly make his way home.

Perhaps partially.

"I thought I told you not to sleep outside, sensei."


End file.
